The doors to an old Maltese chapel open ever so slightly, as a man named Saul (Henry Zammit Cordina) welcomes a flustered woman named Anna (Josette Ciappara) into the building. Anna is distraught, nearly on the verge of tears, but she carries on, admitting she is in need of guidance. Saul isn’t the priest Anna is looking for, but nevertheless he listens to what Anna has on her mind; their encounter sees Anna’s faith tested.
The Chapel Door is the newest project from Aleksa Ristović, as the filmmaker continues to probe the portal between what we see and what we believe. If there was one thing we learned from Ristović’s previous short film Stations of the Cross, it is that he has his sights firmly set on faith in a manner that is practical but shrouded in enough ambiguity to keep audiences guessing. Abstract imagery that blends into religious iconography plays a huge role in his work, and he certainly doubles down on those in his newest short.
All that’s to say that The Chapel Door is a pleasant, if familiar, reintroduction to Ristović’s distinct style, and it works thanks to its cast and earnest dialogue. Ciappara has no trouble exposing her character’s most vulnerable sides, while Cordina matches it with an endearingly empathetic performance. The storytelling itself is far more linear this time around as well, which lends itself well to making Anna’s spiritual battle more concrete, even if that often comes at the expense of some pacing and editing difficulties.
Too often does the cinematography of Ristović and Cordina linger on paintings, statues, and crucifixes (sometimes repeatedly jumping back to the same composition) when the ongoing conversation between Anna and Saul doesn’t require such distractions. They break the natural rhythm of a poignant sequence of events, serving primarily as cutaways for the sake of having cutaways.
Technicalities aside, The Chapel Door is a testament to its creator’s versatility to adapt to a new format—where heavy experimentation is almost completely off the table. Doing away with the heavy-handed approach many faith-driven filmmakers adopt for a more humanistic outlook, the film gives space to real people with tangible imperfections to seek comfort.
The Chapel Door is a touching addition to Aleksa Ristović’s filmography that thrives off the writer/director’s affinity for narratives driven by spirituality.
